Book or portfolio



(No Model.)

*0. B. LEBKIOHER.

BOOK OR PORTFOLIO.

1, A. b my W m 2 5 m i a d m P 1 a i o M j A neweo".

UNITED STATES PATENT O FICE.

COLIN B. LEBKIOHER, OF HELENA, MONTANA.

BOOK OR PORTFOLIO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 483,068, dated September 20, 1892.

Application filed March 24, 1892. fierial No. 426,308. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, COLIN B. LEBKICHER,

of Helena, county of Lewis and Clarke, and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Books or Portfolios, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon. The object of this invention is to provide an lmproved portfolio or book having an expansible back or foundation especially adapted for containing plats, letters, bills, collections of engravings, and the like, botanical specimens, &c., and holding them in parallel planes; and the invention embraces means for controlling or restricting at will the expansibility of the said book or portfolio, and certain other novel devices, all of which will be hereinafter fully set forth.

Reference is to be had to. the accompanying drawings,forming part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is an end view in perspective of the book or portfolio open. Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective end view of the same, partly opened, with parts broken away, showing various positions in which the contents may be secured. Fig. 3 is a side elevation in per spcctive. Fig. 4 is a perspective end view of the book or portfolio partly opened. Fig. 5 is a view in perspective showing an auxiliary gxltensible back attached to the book or port- This portfolio is preferably made without paste or glue, though either may be used, as far as may be desirable,in lieu of the fastenings herein shown. I use simple wire staples or stitches, as shown at a, as being best adapted in a portfolio of this character for securing to the back or foundation A the sheets I), stubs c, envelopes d, plats f, &c., and also use them, as indicated on the right in Fig. 2, for fastening the foundation and covers together, the extremities of the foundation being preferably inserted between the boards of the covers B, and the wire staples or stitches a, being then passed and fastened through them, as best shown in Fig. 2, and the stubs, plats, sheets, 850., may, as indicated, be secured to the sides or to the salient or re-entering angles of the foundation-folds or between the folds, as shown. The foundation A may be of muslin, morocco, paper, or any other suitable material. At certain points (best shown at gg, Figs. 3 and 5) wire staples or loops are fastened in the outer salient angles of the foundation A, and through these and staples or buckles g, fixed in the covers, are passed straps h, that when drawn tight serve to close and compress the folds of the foundation, and so hold them against accidental opening by reason of the friction of the staples or buckles on said straps, and when the said straps are tied, as indicated at h, Fig. 3, they hold the portfolio closed. When it is desirable to restrict or prevent further expansion of the folded back or foundation A, the straps h may be tightly drawn and then tied or otherwise fastened at the rear staples or buckles on the book-covers, as shown at is, Fig. 3, and on loosening the straps the portfolio may be expanded to its fullest extent.

The book or portfolio, partly open, is shown in Fig. 4 with the straps it partly loosened to throw some of the foundation-folds inward and upward, while others with their attached plates or sheets lie horizontal. By reason of the straps It being passed from cover to cover around and attached to the outer salient angles of the foundation, as shown, the book or portfolio may be laid fiat open to its fullest extent with the said straps in normal position, which could not be effected were the straps passed through the covers and foundation-folds or through the covers and any sheets attached to said folds.

In Fig. 5 is shown an auxiliary extensible back O, of leather or other suitable material, one end of which is secured with staples or wire stitches a, or in other suitable manner, to one cover B, while to the other end are fastened straps m, that are passed through buckles a, secured on the other cover 13, and by these means the said back 0 may be drawn tight or loosened to be adapted to the thickness of the portfolio and its contents, and by these means, also, the expansion of the portfolio may be restricted at will. A further advantage of this loose adjustable back C is that it offers a suitable surface and location for title of the book or table, or memorandum of its contents.

It will be seen that when this portfolio is filled with plats, engravings, or other sheets of the aggregate thicknessof the closely-folded foundation. said plats and sheets will all lie in parallel and horizontal planes, and that all added plats or sheets will also lie in the same plane until the portfolio is filled to the extreme of its expansibility, until the folds are all straightened out. w

I am aware that books have been made with foundations folded backward and forward like a fan, with the sheets or sections secured in the salient folds and on the edges of the re-eutering folds, and these special features are not claimed by me; but all such books are bound with inexpansive backs or bindings or the folds are sewed together, and hence are not, like mine, capable of an expansion limited only by the unfolded length of the foundation.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A book or portfolio constructed, substantially as herein shown and described, with a folded expansible foundation, as set forth, wherein the expansibility is restricted or regu- .lated by means of straps attached to the covers and passed through loops or staples fixed in the outer salient angles of the foundation.

2. The combination, with a book or portfolio having a folded expansible foundation, substantially as herein shown and described, of an attached extensible and adjustable back, as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In an expansible book or portfolio, substantially as herein shown and described, as a means for adjusting and regulating its expansibility, a series of straps and suitable staples or buckles secured thereto, as set forth, said straps being attached to the covers and passed outside over the foundation-back.

4. An expansible book or portfolio constructed, substantially as herein shown and described, with a folded foundation fixed between covers and with adjustable straps extending from one cover to the other in contact with and movably attached to the outer salient angles of the said foundation, as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two witnesses, this 19th dayof March, 1892.

COLIN B. LEBKICHER.

Witnesses:

JOHN M. MCDONALD, JACOB J. S'roREa. 

